


Beneath the Mask

by InsomniacCryptid



Category: Fallen Hero Series - Malin Rydén, Fallen Hero: Rebirth (Video Game)
Genre: Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Falling In Love, Gen, Other, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-04-06 10:38:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19060957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsomniacCryptid/pseuds/InsomniacCryptid
Summary: Sidestep. Mysterious, masked and the talk of Los Diablos. The newest hero to step into the spotlight, the hero every reporter is hoping will be at the next disaster, if only to get a little bit more on who they are. The videos of them fighting can only quench the public's thirst for so long. Even if it's a blurry picture. No one has ever seen them long enough to talk to them and absolutely no one has ever. Ever. Seen their face.Not like Charge, whose charming smile and interviews are legendary in small circles of hero fanatics and fans, undoubtedly the heartthrob of the Rangers.How ironic, they think, eyes wide as they stare up at the person hovering over them.Marshal Ortega, Charge, the most eligible hero bachelor, the fantasy of so many along the coast. In his hand, was their mask-- Sidestep's mask.For the first time, Ortega was looking at their face... and what a pretty face it was.





	Beneath the Mask

**Author's Note:**

> Firstly, this is my first time writing the FHR characters, so forgive any out of character stuff, I'll do my best to keep them in character! This is the story of my bluestep, Adrienne Becker, from the beginning! I'll be playing pretty loose with canon for the first few chapters, as we only have the bare necessities for the beginning of our characters life atm, but as we get closer to the Rebirth and Retribution timelines, I will be following canon as much as I care to!

The Rangers had hit the ground running, there was no time to lose, after all. They got the report and wasted no time, or at least they tried not to. But by the time they got there whatever had been going on had… escalated.  
The largest bank in the city was in the middle of a full on armed robbery, nothing too big, but the fact that they were called in meant that it was something the LDPD couldn’t handle. Perfect, Ortega thought, bank robberies were always fun, simple. 

“Marshal Charge!” 

An officer ran up to greet them, calling his name and pulling the marshal from his thoughts. The man put on a charismatic smile and straightened his posture. 

“ah, Lieutenant! Tell us what we’ve got.” Ortega rubbed his hands together in anticipation, small bursts of static spreading over his hands and diffusing on his suit harmlessly. 

The lieutenant blushes, smiling at him before her attention turns back to the problem. “oh, right-- uh-- well, we have a group of 9, lead by some new villain with a-- a harlequin mask? Deputy-- was that right?” 

She turns to an officer sitting in the back of the ambulance on scene, being patched up by an EMT. The other officer nods and the lieutenant turns back to the marshal with the confirmation. "Yes, nine armed assailants, and a man in a harlequin mask." 

He nods, listening and motioning for his fellow Rangers to circle around to listen to the lieutenants debriefing. 

“local news calls him the… the Bard, Charge-- I mean, Marshal Charge. Not boosted, just… a really dangerous mod. He uses some kind of sound frequency to incapacitate and harm others, and he has a big uh... club? Bat? Reports vary so we... aren't really sure.” 

Ortega sighs, eyeing the bank."thanks lieutenant, we'll take it from here.” the officer nods and Ortega turns to his team, smiling. Steel, Elyise, and Anathema, all of them ready to kick some ass. Just in time too, Ortega muses to himself, seeing the news Van's and reporters beginning to surround the perimeter. 

“Rangers.” Ortega addresses his team, calling them to attention, and probably looking very good for the press. “Alright. Nine guys with guns and some modded theater kid. Steel, you should take point, Anathema--” alarm and adrenaline burst through Ortega all at once as the sound of shattering glass cuts him off, his body tensing as he whips around to look at the bank. 

A body had been flung through one of the windows and hit one of the news vans. 

Ricardo squints, eying the figure carefully-- they were clad in black, with bright shocks of teal and light grey-- a hero? None that he'd seen before, but vigilantes and heroes were always popping up, so there was no surprise there. But there were no reports of anyone other than the robbers and hostages on scene-- 

The scrambling thoughts of the Marshal were pushed to a halt when the crumpled form moved, pushing themselves to their feet. Gasps and murmurs of disbelief and excitement break out among the reporters, one of them being the loudest yelling out a name. 

“oh-- shit, get the cameras, over there, its Sidestep!!” 

Sidestep?

The figure squares their shoulders as they stand before they dash back into the bank, finally snapping Ortega out of his stunned moment enough to give orders to the rest of his team. 

“no time, let's move!” 

“on it,” came Steel's gruff response, followed cheerfully by an echo of the words from Elyise, a boisterous cheer from Anathema, and Ortega did what he did best. 

Charge.

The inside of the bank was… messy, to put it kindly. Nine bodies lay slumped over each other, untouched, sleeping soundly. In the middle of the room stood the massive, hulking figure of… the Bard. 

The man easily dwarfed Steel, and that was no easy accomplishment. He was as the lieutenant described, and had what appeared to be large… speakers on the back of his… boots. 

“come here, you little--” the angry voice of the Bard bellowed, to… no one, it seemed, until Ortega caught a blur of black and grey leaping out from behind one of the desks to dance from one to the other, taunting. 

“Too slooooow~” Sidestep crowed, seemingly delighted at the rage the Bard was showing. 

Ortega, taking the chance while the big bad guy was distracted he ordered his team to get the rest of the hostages and the robbers out, while he sprinted to the center of the room. electricity crackled from his hands, arcing towards the Bard, striking him in the back. 

The behemoth of a man roared in rage, but that… didnt seem to do much than make him angry. 

“about time you guys showed up,” the voice of Sidestep echoed in the space once more, he realized, it was directed at him this time. Ortega spares a glance to his right, brows furrowing as he sees the… hero, perched on the edge of one of the walls separating the teller desks. “but I've got it from here.” 

“oh really? Cuz this guy still looks pretty angry and very much still a problem.” Ortega shouts back at them, giving them a smile, only to find them… gone. His eyes flick over his surroundings, turning his head slightly, catching sight of them only a short… climb, away. 

Sidestep laughs, having jumped from their perch to stick to one of the large marble pillars in the middle of the area, whatever their suit was made of helping them stay… in spite of himself, he feels his cheeks flush red. Was that embarrassment? 

“watch and learn, Ranger.” 

Sidestep stays where they hide, out of sight from the Bard… whose angry, bloodshot eyes are stuck on Ortega. 

Oh. Shit. 

The Bard bellows a great, guttural yell, shaking the windows in the room as he charges toward the marshal. No time to move, no time to-- 

Ricardo finds his eyes widening, the panic and fight or flight debate that had been flying through his head… suddenly stopping. Just like the Bard. 

He seemed to be… entranced. Stumbling from his charging position, swaying back and forth, side to side and... 

...Slowly… beginning to lumber towards the exit. Ortega started in a mix of shock and confusion as the.. the villain they were supposed to take down walked out of the bank and surrendered to the LDPD. 

Ortega could see Steel, Anathema and Elyise helping, the former taking custody of the Bard, and the latter two carrying the last of the civilians to the ambulances… with that taken care of… his gaze turns to Sidestep, who had jumped from the pillar to land on the floor with a sigh. 

“alright, what was that?” Ortega aims the question at the unknown hero, wondering how he hadn’t heard of them or seen them in the papers… 

“what, that?” They stand from their crouched position, rolling their shoulder and stretching their arms above their head… they were looking pretty good for a person who had just been thrown through a window into a van. “oh, just… just what I do, no big deal.” 

Ortega snorts, folding his arms. “no big deal? You just-- alright… okay,” this was… frankly the easiest take down he had ever seen-- and given the size of that baddie, it could have gotten messier, fast. With far more lives lost. They needed someone like this… Sidestep, on the Rangers. 

“okay, so how did you do it? Mind control? Who are you?” 

They shift their feet, nervously, maybe? Now that he was closer he saw that their face was concealed, so he really did have no idea who they were… weird, since none of the vigilantes or heroes bothered with full face masks anymore… 

“Well, I--” 

The sound of the bank doors opening cut them off, Ortega turns to see a few reporters stumble in, flanked by more. 

It’s the light swish of air beside his face that makes him turn to look at where Sidestep was standing… only to find them gone, this time with no trace of them… anywhere. 

"Where'd they go?" 

"Did you see Sidestep? How did they leave?"

"Marshal, Can you give us a statement? Did you see the masked vigilante known as Sidestep? 

"Are the Rangers working with vigilantes now?" 

"Marshal Charge, can you tell us what happened here?" 

He didnt even have time to search around before he was swarmed, recorders and microphones pushed in his direction as the paparazzi did what _they_ did best, leaving him with little choice… he'd have to wait until this Sidestep showed up again, to better know them… and maybe recruit them.


End file.
